


Echo Park, CA

by Sam4265



Category: Fast and the Furious Series, The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Genre: Brian was always part of the crew AU, M/M, Past Underage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 10:32:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10695204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sam4265/pseuds/Sam4265
Summary: Twenty year old Brian O'Conner is speeding down the highway when a cop pulls him over. He's arrested and interrogated by a detective who wants him to narc on Dom.





	Echo Park, CA

**Author's Note:**

> So I just saw Fate of the Furious, and I needed to write something with these two.  
> The past underage tag if for a relationship between 17 year old Brian and 23 year old Dom that was barely a relationship, and was not sexual in nature.  
> This work was previously called Alias: Snowman, and was a hell of a lot shorter. I'm happier with this version of it. Also, please nobody judge me for my probably terribly incorrect police procedure.

Brian sped across the empty highway. He shifted into gear and floored the gas. He laughed as the wind rushed by, the California desert a mere beige blur in the corners of his eyes. He only had eyes for the empty road ahead, and the hazy orange of the sunrise. Spanish blasted through the speakers, the base rocking the steering wheel. Brian flew by so fast he didn’t notice the cop car until it was too late. The sirens raged, but Brian couldn’t hear them over the reggaeton blasting through the speakers. He saw the blue and red flashes in the side mirrors, and his stomach clenched.

“Shit,” he sighed. He slowed the gas until he was chugging along at barely a crawl, and then finally he pulled over to the side of the road. The cruiser pulled up behind him, and Brian put his hands on the wheel. The cop strode up to the window, which Brian dutifully rolled down.

“Son, do you have any idea how fast you were going?” The cop, Officer Fons, his badge said, asked. Brian nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“License and registration,” Officer Fons demanded, hand on his gun. Brian slowly reached into the glove box and pulled out the documents, careful not to spook the obviously trigger happy officer. Officer Fons took them and began to walk back to his car, when he stopped.

“You’re Brian O’Conner?” He asked. Brian nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” he said. Officer Fons smirked.

“Out of the car, hotshot. You’re under arrest for suspicion of street racing, and going 160 in an 80.”

“What?” Brian snapped, shocked.

“You heard me, _Snowman,_  get the hell out of the car, before I add resisting arrest to the list of charges.”

Brian had no choice. He got out of his car, hands up. Officer Fons shoved him hard against the car door, and pulled his hands behind him. Brian felt the cold grip of handcuffs locking around his wrists, and he couldn’t help but think that Dom was going to be righteously pissed when he found out Brian had been arrested. Officer Fons shoved Brian along the street, making sure to be as rough as possible, until they reached the cruiser. The officer opened the door, and made sure to hit Brian’s head on the car door on the way into the back seat. Brian cursed, but didn’t resist; that would only make things worse. He sat in the back of the cruiser and leaned back against the headrest. He shut his eyes, this was going to be bad. It wasn’t like they had anything on him, not really. Nothing more than what was sure to be a heinous speeding ticket. They couldn’t pin the racing on him anymore than they could Dom. He had priors, sure, but nothing associated with racing. There was no way this could end well, though. As soon as Dom heard about it, they would all be in a hell of a lot of trouble.

“Better get cozy, O’Conner, it’s a two hour drive back to civilization going the right speed. And lucky you gets to spend those two hours with me,” Officer Fons grinned. His teeth were yellowing and he reeked of cigarettes. Brian sighed. This was sure to be fun.

——

The ride back to Los Angeles was certainly as awful as Brian expected. He spent the whole ride staying silent while the officer tried to goad him into saying something incriminating. Brain wouldn’t say anything, he’d been in the back of a cop car before, he knew how it worked.

“Alright kid, in we go,” Officer Fons said as he got Brian out of the car. He led Brian through the police station towards the interrogation rooms, another anomaly. Usually when he was arrested, he was just detained, not questioned. The other officers watched as he passed. Brian avoided everyone’s eyes and kept his own forward. Officer Fons led him to the interrogation rooms and cuffed him to the table.

“This is where I leave you, blondie, give me a smile before I go, will ya?” He said, gripping Brian’s jaw in his hand. Brian didn’t even twitch. Fons snarled and slapped him hard across the face. Brian winced, but refused to give Fons the satisfaction of reacting.

“I said smile, bitch,” Fons said again. Brian smiled at him with bloody teeth, and then spit blood back in his face.

“Why you little-“ Fons reared back, but before he could hit Brian again a man in a suit with the words ex-military written all over him walked in.

“Officer Fons, you’re no longer needed here,” he said, completely ignoring the man in favor of sitting across from Brian, and setting two thick manila folders down on his side of the table. Fons snarled but left the room.

Brian examined the man in front of him. He was a relatively big man, not bigger than Dom though. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and skin tanned from hours in the California sun. He was rough looking, and stretched the boundaries of his suit to it’s limits.

“I’m Detective Rodriguez,” he said. He didn’t wait for Brian to introduce himself, which he had no intention of doing, and instead opened up the smaller of the two files.

“Brian Earl O’Conner. Age: twenty, alias: Snowman, under arrest for speeding and suspicion of street racing,” Rodriguez recited, reading dutifully from the folder. Brian swallowed hard, but the man just looked up, untroubled.

“You have a very interesting file Brain. Did you know that you did two years in juvie for boosting cars? Or that you have several pages worth of misdemeanors. Everything from speeding tickets to bar fights. The funniest thing though, is the notes section. I’ll let you in on a little law enforcement secret. There’s a section in your file specifically so that arresting officers and the like can write notes to anyone who looks at the file and tell them a little about the subject. For example, yours says: abusive father, absent mother, in a relationship with known felon: Dominic Toretto. You know, the personal stuff. That’s where I always look first.”

Brain glanced down at the folder, which was opened to the aforementioned notes page. It was long, and detailed, and definitely named names. In fact it looked like Dom’s name was definitely mentioned multiple times throughout the section. Brian swallowed hard. He didn’t like where this was going.

“Now, Brian, I know that you’re not really innocent, but I know that you did nothing today that should get you more than a particularly atrocious speeding ticket. However, I also know that you and Dom Toretto are incredibly… close,” he said. “I mean, the file says right here that it’s suspected that your relationship with Dom started when you were still a minor. You wouldn’t care to confirm that, would you?”

Brian said nothing.

Rodriguez snorted, “No, I suspected not. Naughty boy, Brian. Dating a man six years older than you while you were still a minor. Wouldn’t want the cops in the bullpen to get a whiff of that, or Dom might have more to answer for than just a couple of speeding tickets,” Brian could feel his face heat. His heart pounded in his chest, and yet still he said nothing.

“Doesn’t matter, though, the point is that you and Dom are in fact together, which means he probably tells you all kinds of interesting things. Like, what he does in his free time, for example. Or, where he gets the money for all those fancy expensive cars he never seems to run out of. You know, things like that.”

Brian could feel his limbs going numb. His heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his eyes down and didn’t do anything incriminating. Rodriguez wanted him to give up Dom, to tell him exactly what illegal things Dom did that got him what he wanted. He wanted Brain to incriminate Dom. That wasn’t what worried Brian; he knew he’d never do it, and judging by the very extensive analysis of his and Dom’s relationship, Rodriguez knew it too. No, what Brian was really worried about was why Rodriguez thought he could get Brian to confess in the first place.

“Now, I know you don’t particularly want to fess up to any crimes Dom theoretically may have committed, but I can think of a few reasons why you might want to,” Rodriguez looked at him for any sign that he was getting through to Brian, but Brian still sat resolutely still. Rodriguez sighed and finally opened the thicker file.

“Roman Pierce. Age: twenty-one, alias: none, arrested for grand theft auto, and resisting arrest. Found guilty, and was committed to two years in a California prison. Sounds fun.” He looked up at Brian, who was staring at him with wide blue eyes. “Now, I could probably talk to the judge, he’s an old friend of mine, and get him to see that Roman’s nothing more than a misunderstood kid. I could also, maybe, talk to the arresting officer, I was in his wedding, and ask him nicely to drop the resisting arrest charges. And maybe, just maybe, all this could get Roman out just a little bit sooner. I could do all of these things, theoretically, but only if I had the right incentive. Only if I have someone else to put in Roman’s place,” Rodriguez said. Brian glared at him, blue eyes burning.

“That’s what you want? Rome for Dom?” He asked, furious.

“Well, it seems like a reasonable trade to me. You’re best friend for the man who no doubt should be under arrest for a whole host of things, including statutory rape. Does it really sound that bad, Brian? You’re friend gets out of prison, and a very dangerous man goes in his place. It seems like the perfect trade to me. Opportunity of a lifetime, really.”

Brian’s fists clenched in his handcuffs. He knew that if he said nothing now, that Rome would be serving the maximum two years. He would have no hope of getting out on good behavior or anything of the kind, but Brian had told Rome not to take the job in the first place. He’d told him from the beginning that it was screwed, but Rome hadn’t listened, that wasn’t Brian's fault, and it wasn’t his problem to fix.

“If you think you’re getting anything from me, you’re shitting yourself,” he snapped. Rodriguez looked surprised, but not overly so. In fact, he looked more annoyed than anything.

“Your friend’s in to prison.”

“He deserves it, he fucked up. That’s not my problem to fix.”

Rodriguez was slowly growing angrier. “So, Dom’s bitch back at it, huh? Always willing to give up everything to save the guy who dick’s him on the regular?”

Brian narrowed his eyes and shrugged.

“Kid, you better rethink this. These are real people’s lives that are at stake here. Roman’s in prison! And how long do you think that boyfriend of yours is going to last truck jacking now that the truckers have started arming themselves? Don’t be an idiot, Brian, get your head out of your ass, and tell me exactly what Dom’s doing!”

Brian said nothing. Rodriguez slammed his fist on the table, making Brian jump, and stood up, looming over Brian.

“You know, for someone so well known for never shutting up, you’re being pretty quiet right about now.”

Brian didn’t move.

“Ok, kid, listen to me, you-“ but before he could start in on the rant, the door opened and another suited detective walked in.

“Rodriguez, that’s it man, Toretto’s here.”

Rodriguez cursed a blue streak, and Brian finally relaxed in his seat. Rodriguez leaned back in his chair and looked at Brian. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white card with a number hastily scrawled on the back.

“In case you feel like fessing up,” Rodriguez said, and put the card in Brian’s pocket.

Rodriguez left him cuffed, and led him back through the station toward where Dom was standing. His demeanor was deceptive. He stood seemingly calm, and at ease, but if you looked just right at the thin tense line that was his mouth, or the narrowing of his eyebrows, or the complete and utter fury in his eyes, you could see that the calm was nothing but a facade. Rodriguez shoved Brain forward, and Dom’s fist twitched at his side. Brian shook his head slightly, but it did nothing to relax Dom.

“Toretto,” Rodriguez greeted.

“Detective,” Dom spit. “I don’t appreciate you arresting my employees without cause.”

“We arrested your boyfriend on suspicion of street racing.”

“On an empty highway?” Dom growled.

“Yup,” Rodriguez replied, giving nothing away. Dom’s eyes narrowed.

“I think you should take the cuffs off now,” he said. Rodriguez unlocked Brian’s cuffs, but he didn’t look happy about it. As soon as Brian was free, he moved to Dom’s side. Dom took Brian’s face in his hands, and examined the reddening bruise on his cheek. Dom brushed his thumb across the mark, and Brian’s breath hitched. Dom turned back to Rodriguez.

“He didn’t have that this morning,” Dom said. Rodriguez, holding Dom’s gaze the whole time, simply shrugged.

“Must’ve hit it while he was driving. You know how dangerous illegal things can be,” he said. Brian could see the moment Dom’s temper snapped. He didn’t appreciate people hurting what belonged to him, and hurting Brian was another, worse, matter all together. Dom had a temper that rested on a hair trigger. He punched fast and sudden, before anyone could even think about what had happened. But over the years Brian had learned to read the signs, so before Dom could hit the detective, Brian stepped in front of him, and shoved him back as best he could, which wasn’t much.

“I’m ok, Dom, I’m fine. He’s right, I must’ve hit myself on the car, come on man, let it go,” Brian said forcefully. Dom radiated danger, like a lion stalking a particularly cocky gazelle. Rodriguez glared at Dom. He was becoming just as frustrated as Dom was, and it showed in the shift of his behavior. Instead of being a barely restrained jackass, he was crossing over into complete jackass territory. Dom shifted forward again, and Brian panicked. Dom had a good fifty pounds on him, and he was taller too; Brian couldn’t stop him even if he wanted to, not by force anyway.

“Dominic!” He snapped. “You’re not hitting a fucking cop in a police station, don’t be an idiot!”

Dom looked down at him, nostrils flaring, eyes twitching, fists clenched. Rodriguez smirked.

“Yeah, Toretto, listen to your bitch, apparently he’s not as stupid as he looks.”

Dom’s fist was like lightning. Sharp and sudden and barely visible as it made it’s way to the wall next to Rodriguez’s head. Rodriguez jumped, eyes widening. He seemed to finally understand just who he’d pissed off.

“Call him that again,” Dom snarled. Brian grabbed Dom’s other arm.

“Dom, please, come on, let’s just go,” he pleaded. Dom ignored him.

“Is that a threat Toretto?” Rodriguez asked.

“Threat? Sounded like a statement to me,” he replied. Before things could get any worse, Brian stepped in between them, and forced Dom’s fist away from the wall.

“Dom! _Let’s go home_ ,” he said, furious. Dom finally let up, and shoved away from Rodriguez. He stalked toward the door, not looking back to see if Brian was following. Brian looked back once more at Rodriguez, who had sagged against the wall, and looked incredibly tired where he stood, and followed after Dom.

Brian had to run to keep up with Dom’s furious pace.

“Dom!” He shouted, but Dom ignored him.

“Dom! Listen to me! What the hell were you thinking?”

Dom stopped suddenly, and turned around sharply, stopping Brain dead in his tracks.

“I was thinking that that asshole hit you, _hurt you_ , and he had the balls to deny it to my face. I was thinking that he touched what’s mine, and thought he could get away with it,” he snapped, finger in Brian’s face. Brian knocked his hand away and scoffed.

“Get off your high horse, Dom, and control your fucking temper! I’ve had worse than a hit happy cop, and besides, it wasn’t even Rodriguez who hit me!  It was the arresting officer. Jesus, Dom, pull yourself together, “ Brian snapped. Dom looked at the station, and then back at Brian.

“Tell me his name.”

“No!”

“Now.”

“No! I’m not letting you go off, and beat the shit out of a cop! You got two years in Lompoc for not keeping your temper under control before, and I’m not letting you go back for something as pointless as this shit!”

Dom’s eyes snapped back to Brian.

“Pointless?”

“Yes!”

“Get in the fucking car.” Dom snarled.

“What?”

“You heard me, Brian, get in the fucking car, now!”

Brian shoved Dom aside with a huff, and got in the passenger’s side of the car, slamming the door rebelliously. Dom landed heavily in the driver’s seat moment’s later, and shifted the car into gear, peeling out of the parking lot and restraining himself just enough to keep from breaking any of the speed limits. They drove in silence while Dom had made it out of the city and into the suburbs. He pulled into the parking lot of one of the race tracks that was closed for the day. His fists were clenched so tightly against the wheel that his knuckles had turned white. Brian waited for Dom to talk; it would be better if he could collect himself before they started fighting again.

“Knocking someone’s teeth out for hitting you is not pointless Brian,” Dom said. Brian sighed.

“Maybe not, but I’m not going to let you do it, not if it gets you locked up again. You’re not leaving me again, because if you do, I don’t know what I’ll do, but it won’t be good,” Brian confessed. Dom looked at him for a moment, before looking away. He knew Brian was right. They’d done crazy things for each other before, and Dom wasn’t stupid enough to think anything could stop Brian from doing them again.

“Why’d they arrest you?” He asked finally.

“Officially on suspicion for racing, just like detective asshole said, but unofficially they wanted me to narc on you. Said they’d trade getting Roman out of prison for getting you into one.”

Dom nodded, and was silent for a long moment.

“Did you do it?”

“What, narc on you?”

Dom nodded. Brian laughed sharply.

“Seriously? You really think I’d fucking do that? To _you_? Fuck, Dom, don’t be an idiot. Of course I didn’t fucking do it.”

Dom nodded, “Maybe you should have.”

Brian turned sharply to look at him. “Don’t you dare say that to me. I am so done with your guilt complex. There’s nothing in this world that could get me to narc on you, and don’t pretend you don’t know that.”

“I’m just saying Brian, I’ve done some bad things, and Rome doesn’t deserve what he got.”

“Rome was being an idiot, even after I’d specifically told him not to. He’ll be out soon, and it won’t matter anymore. Nothing you’ve done is deserving of prison, not Kenny Linder, _nothing_.”

“I did do one thing,” Dom said quietly, looking purposefully at Brian. Brian got it a second later.

“Dom, no,”

“It’s true,” he said.

“Dom-“

“Brian, I fooled around with you before you were eighteen. I did that, and that’s illegal. It’s the only thing I’ve done that I don’t feel right about.”

“Dom we didn’t even have sex-”

“It doesn’t matter Brian! Of all the stupid things I’ve done, that’s the one I know I really shouldn’t have.”

They were silent for a long time. While it was true that Brian and Dom had been in a relationship before Brian turned eighteen, Dom had never really touched Brian before then. He’d always been overly wary, cautious. They’d all had their brushes with the law before, but Dom had never been that kind of man. They’d known each other since Brian was born, and Dom figured that if he’d been able to wait that long, he could wait a little longer. They’d been friends all their lives, and though it was true that Brian had been seventeen when their relationship first started, it hadn’t been much of one before he’d turned eighteen. Brian knew that everyone thought they’d been screwing a lot longer than they actually had, and that very few people approved of their relationship, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t mad at Dom, he’d never been. He’d been more mad before Dom had finally agreed to date him. Besides, it wasn’t like they were some mindless fling that wasn’t going to last, they were in love. Brian firmly believed that, and he knew Dom did too. They’d been saying I love you since Brian was six years old, and it meant the same thing now as it did then.

“Do you regret it?” Brian asked. Dom took a long look out the window.

“Not for a second,” He finally said. Brian grinned at him and pulled Dom into a heartbreakingly sweet kiss.

“Me either,” Brian replied, breaking the kiss. He smiled at Dom, and wrapped his arms around Dom’s neck. He frowned suddenly.

“I want you to stop jacking those trucks. We have enough, you can’t keep doing this,” he said. Dom sighed and leaned back.

“Brian, we’ve had this argument before-“

“No, it’s different this time. The truckers are arming themselves Dom, they’ll kill you next time you get close. You can’t risk this anymore,” Brian said. He didn’t know what he would do if Rodriguez was right. If the next time their crew tried to hit a truck, the driver pulled out a shotgun and shot one of them clear off the face of the Earth.

“Please, Dom,” Brian whispered, leaning against Dom’s chest. Dom sighed, and wrapped an arm around Brian.

“One more run.” Brian began to argue, but Dom stopped him. “One more run, the run that’ll make us rich, and we’ll stop. We’ll drive down to Mexico and I’ll buy you a cabana on the beach and we can spend the rest of our days kicking ass on the Mexican streets.” Dom said it all as if he could see it. Their future all planned out ahead of them. He and Brian sitting on a beach in Mexico. He and Brian beating the fastest ten second racers south of the border. He and Brian, together. Brian could see it, but he almost didn’t want it. Not really. He liked Los Angeles. He liked their little makeshift family, and their little shop on the corner. He liked Mia’s shitty tuna sandwiches, and Vince’s meathead personality. He wouldn’t mind going to Mexico, but he didn’t want to stay there. It just wasn’t the life for him, for them.

“Dom, please. I know you don’t want to listen to me, I know you think you’re right because most of the time you are, but please, just this once, listen to me. The trucker’s are arming themselves, the police know that it’s you, you have to cool it. Stop and maybe come back to it at some point down the line.” Brian thought he was being reasonable, but evidently Dom didn’t agree.

“Brian, we’ve had this argument before, and we’re not having it again. Me and the team are going to hit that truck after race wars. You and Mia are going to stay home and wait up for us, and when we come back, we’ll be rich.”

Brian sighed. He was tired of arguing with Dom. Dom was as bull headed as he was big, and he was completely impossible to argue with. The only people who had managed it with any kind of success were Mia and Brian, and even Brian had trouble a lot of the time. In this Dom wouldn’t budge. He was going to hit that truck, and there was nothing Brian could do to stop him.

——

Race Wars was a pulsating mass of desert heat, withering bodies, and cars in every color imaginable. Music blared from car speakers, different tunes overlapping each other and creating a wall of beat that blasted everyone who drove by. Brian loved everything about it. He loved the smell of barbecue and Mexican food that permitted the air, and the sounds of laughter and the revving of engines. As he drove through the throng of skimpily dressed girls and baggily clothed guys he couldn’t help but take in everything with wide blue eyes. This was not his first Race Wars, not by a long shot, but no matter how many times he’d been it was always exciting. There was something about the feel of the races, the California heat and the pumping base. Everything was exhilarating, exciting, and he couldn’t help but love it.

Brian pulled up next to Vince’s car by their tent. He stepped out of the car and was immediately swarmed with people all trying to get on Dom’s good side. It was a well known fact that the best way to get to Dom was through Brian, and racers were always trying to use that to their advantage. They thought Brian was a stupid kid, but they knew he was Dom’s stupid kid. So they cozied up to him, did everything they could to get on his good side, and therefore Dom’s, but little did they know that Brian knew exactly who was on Dom’s shit list, and he had no intention of helping them.

As he made his way toward the tent, a racer with buzzed hair and pants sagging to his ankles walked up to Brian and put his arm around him.

“Hey, Snowman! How’s it going man?” The racer’s name was Dwayne and he’d tried to cheat Dom after a race two weeks earlier. Ever since then he’d been more or less shunned from the LA racing scene. Nobody liked a cheat, and especially not a cheap one. He’d been trying to get on Brian’s good side since then; trying to get him to put in a good word for him with Dom, but Brian had been avoiding the guy at every turn. Dom didn’t like him around guys like Dwayne, and Brian had no problem staying away from them.

“Dwayne,” he sighed.

“Hey man, I don’t know if Dom’s racin’ today, but I wanna race one a you guys. What about it, Snowman, feel like racin’?” He was grinning a slick grin, and Brian had to swallow a grimace.

“No thanks, man. I don’t race unless Dom wants me to, and I don’t know if he wants me to today,” Brian said. It had been true, Brian hadn’t raced until Dom had okayed it first, at least, he hadn’t when he’d been a minor. This was only his second Race Wars since he’d turned eighteen, and all bets were off, but Dwayne didn’t need to know that. Dwayne visibly deflated, and his smile flickered.

“Well, if ya change ya mind, let me know, ya got me?”

“Yeah, sure thing Dwayne,” Brian said as they finally reached the entrance to the Toretto tent. The effect on Dwayne was instantaneous. As soon as they got close enough to the tent, he froze. He wouldn’t walk over the line into the tent, he couldn’t. The Toretto tent was a by no means a sacred place, but Dom was king to these people, and there were those who were not allowed in his court. Brian continued on without even pausing as Dwayne stopped. Dwayne called out a goodbye, but Brian ignored him and made his way toward Dom.

Dom was sitting on a chair in the center of the tent. There was another beside him for Brian, and all around him milled his crew. Letty and Mia stood off to the side, talking to each other and pointing out the more attractive of the racers outside. Leon and Jessie were examining the cars from just inside the tent’s barrier, and Vince stood behind Dom, a loyal guard dog if nothing else. Brian took his spot directly to Dom’s right. He grinned at Dom and leaned back in the seat.

“Dwayne wants to race me,” he said. Dom raised an eyebrow.

“What’d you say?” He asked.

“I said I refer to your better judgement when it comes to racing.”

Dom snorted, even he knew that was bullshit.

“Do you want to race him?” Dom asked. Brian shrugged.

“Maybe later. I’m too tired to smoke him just yet.”

Dom rolled his eyes, and they sat back to watch the races.

——

Race Wars passed in a beige colored blur, with streaks of neon passing through. Eventually the sun simmered down, and Dwayne once again asked Brian to race. Brian finally agreed, he could always use some quick cash.

Their cars lined up at the starting line; Dwayne’s a loud abrasive mess of color and choking base, Brian’s a bright orange Supra. Dwayne revved the engine, bumping up as close to the line as he dared. Brian glanced out the other window at Dom, who was sitting outside his tent, smirking. Brian rolled his eyes and flipped down his sunglasses. One of the Race Wars staff stepped between their cars. He raised his hands, and Brian’s grip tightened on the wheel, Dwayne revved his engine once more.

“Go!” The man shouted, throwing his arms down. Dwayne and Brian took off, Dwayne scoring the starting lead. It was nothing to worry about, in fact Brian preferred it that way. Let them think they’ve gotten a leg up, when all they’d done was waste precious fuel. Brian floored the gas, his baby practically purring as it crept up behind Dwayne. Dwayne saw Brian edging toward him, and hit the NOS. He zoomed forward, but it was too early. His high began to putter out, and Brian hit his own NOS, gaining the lead and speeding past Dwayne just in time to skid over the finish line, a full two feet ahead of Dwayne. Their cars skidded to a halt, and Brian stepped out of his, laughing at the adrenaline rush that surged through his veins. Dwayne was cursing and slamming his fist against the wheel. He should’ve known better than to race the Snowman.

“Pay up, Dwayne,” Brian laughed. Dwayne scowled but forked over the cash. Brian turned back to Dom and raised his hand with the cash in it with a grin. Dom smirked back at him and shook his head. He’d long since grown used to Brian’s antics.

\----

Dom didn’t race just anyone, and he rarely ever raced at Race Wars. It wasn’t necessarily that he didn’t want to, it was just that everyone knew he was king; they knew it was pointless to try, so usually they didn’t. Once in awhile a non-local would stop by who hadn’t heard of Dom by reputation, and would proceed to challenge Dom in a race. Dom always won.

By the time three o’clock came around pretty much everyone except Dom and Jesse had raced. Most of the time Jessie didn’t have the money to buy his way into a race, so he usually just stuck to the mechanics. He’d mill around, gazing longingly at the engines of the racers who propped open their hoods to show off. He’d gotten more than a few good ideas by puttering around, looking at everyone’s cars.

This Race Wars was different though. It was different because late in the day Brian saw Jesse striding purposefully toward his Jetta with a pink slip in hand, and knew nothing good could possibly come of it.

“Jesse, wait!” He called. Jesse turned at the last minute, and Brian jogged up to him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Brian asked.

“I’m racing, man. I’m going to win, and I’m going to get some money to take care of my dad once he get’s out of prison. I’ve got everything worked out.” Jesse replied. He looked proud of himself, like he really thought he could do it. Brian wasn’t so sure. Jesse was good, but he wasn’t trained by Dom since he was thirteen kind of good, not like Brian.

“Jesse, you don’t have the money to buy your way in, and I know you’re not racing for the Jetta,” Brian protested.

“Don’t worry Brian, I’ve got it all worked out, I’ll win, I know I will. Don’t worry,” Jesse said. He got into his car, and shut the door behind him. Brian stepped up, and looked through the windows to see none other than Johnny Tran sitting in the car next to the Jetta.

“Shit,” Brian breathed. Jesse looked over and saw Johnny.

“Shit,” he agreed. Johnny Tran was bad news, in more ways than one. For one thing, he and Dom had a complicated working relationship, which had already forced Johnny into hating them all. Then Dom had slept with his sister. It had been a disaster. He and Brian had gotten into a fight when Brian was nineteen, the worst they’d ever had. It had ended with Brian taking off in his dad’s old car, and not contacting Dom for two weeks. In those two weeks Dom had slept with Johnny’s sister as a sort of revenge against Brian. To say the aftermath of that decision hadn’t been pretty would be putting it lightly. Brian had been spitting mad, and Johnny had been furious. So mad in fact that he and Dom had been enemies ever since, and they were constantly at odds. Jessie racing Johnny was dangerous, for more reasons than one. Anything could happen, and Dom would have a difficult time getting Jessie out of it.

“Jesse, you still have time to back out of this, man. Don’t do this, come on,” Brian pleaded, but Jesse just shook his head.

“No, I have to do this,” he said, adamant. There was no convincing him when he was like this, he was too much like Dom. Brian swallowed hard, and backed away from the car. He ran off to find Dom just as the race was starting.

By the time Brian made it to Dom it was too late. Jesse was already speeding through the desert, and off into the distance.

“Dom, we have a problem,” Brian snapped as he walked up. Dom turned away from where he’d been talking with Leon, and looked at Brian. Something in the distance caught his eye, and he looked out at the desert, cursing when he saw Jesse’s car speeding away. Before Dom could even gather his wits, Johnny Tran stepped up to him.

“Where the hell’s he going?” He asked. Dom didn’t skip a beat.

“Gas station,” he said. Johnny scoffed.

“He better be. I want my car, Toretto,” he said. Dom opened his mouth to reply, but Johnny kept talking.

“I expect what I’m owed,” he glanced at Brian. “Maybe I’ll just take your bitch as collateral.”

Just like with Rodriguez, Dom’s fist came from no where, fast as a speeding bullet. Even Brian didn’t see it coming when it hit Johnny Tran square in the mouth. He dropped like a rock, but was up again a moment later, launching himself at Dom. Brian cried out in surprise and moved out of the way of their fists. Johnny knocked Dom off his feet and then they were rolling in the dirt. Johnny punched down, and Dom blocked him. Brian tried to move forward to pull Johnny off of Dom, but Leon pulled him back.

“Leave it to us, Bri,” he said. Then he and Vince were joining Dom in the fray. Brian called out for security, and moments later Leon had pulled Dom off of Johnny, and security had pulled away Johnny and Vince. Security separated them, and told them both not to go near each other, but they weren’t thrown out of Race Wars. Fights were common, and if they threw out every racer that got into them, they’d have none left to actually race. By the time Brian found Dom licking his wounds and fuming back in their camper, it was growing dark. Dom shoved at a cabinet, and threw a glass out the window.

“Dom!” Brian snapped. Dom whipped around. “Calm down! You can’t be losing your shit, we have to find Jesse.”

“No,” Dom said. Brian’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?”

“No, Brian, we need to go on that run. We have to finish this. One last job, remember? We have to finish this.”

Brian slapped Dom across the face. Dom was silent for a moment, jaw clenching. When Brian raised his hand again, Dom caught his wrist.

“Dom! You’re not listening to me, Jesse’s in trouble! Real, actual trouble, Tran will go after him for this, he’ll hurt him, maybe even kill him!”

Dom shoved Brian out of the way, not stopping even when Brian's back made bruising contact with a cabinet, and made his way out of the trailer. Brian let out a pained grunt and followed quickly after him. Dom made his way to where their cars were parked, all lined up together like a wall of neon colored trouble. Brian’s Supra was parked at the end, just outside of the force that was Dom and his crew, not yet allowed into that fold.

“Dom, don’t you dare get into that car!” He shouted. Dom didn’t stop, he just kept striding purposefully toward his car. Leon, Letty and Vince were all lined up and ready to go; they were just waiting for their leader. Brian ran forward and put himself between Dom and his car door.

“Don’t, not without Jesse. You’re a man short, you can’t do this without him,” Brian pleaded. Dom took a deep breath and looked straight into Brian’s eyes.

“I have to,” he said simply.

“Then take me!” Brian tried. “I’m a better driver than Jesse anyway, I can help you, make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Dom shook his head, he didn’t even think about it.

“You’re too young Brian, we’ve been over this. I won’t bring you into this. You and Mia, you’re the best things in my life, and I’m not going to ruin that by pulling you into this. You’re too good for this, too good for me.” He kissed Brian lightly on the lips and then carefully moved him aside. He got into his car, and then he and the rest of them were peeling out of the parking lot.

Mia ran up to Brian.

“Where the hell is he going?” She asked. “Don’t tell me he’s-“

“He is,” Brian fumed. He turned to Mia. “Mia, I need you to go back to the house and wait for Jesse. He’s in trouble, Tran’s after him and we can’t let him find him first.”

She nodded, “Okay, where are you going?”

Brian turned to watch the streaks of color fading into the distance. “I’m going to go do something stupid.”

——

Brian made sure Mia had left before he got in his car. He didn’t know where Dom was going, he didn’t even know where the Honda’s were stashed. He pulled out of the lot and took off after them. All he could think about was Rodriguez saying that the truckers were arming themselves, that next time Dom might not make it out in one piece. Brian thought about Jessie and how he needed Dom now more than ever. He thought of Dom and the ridiculous idea he had to finish one last score, that there was so much riding on such a stupid thing. Money. Brian rolled his eyes, what could money buy them that they didn’t already have? Family? They had the best. Faster cars? There were none. Happiness? Brian was bold enough to say they already had that. He didn’t know what it was that made Dom want to do this in the first place. Their racers were winning them enough money to fix the cars. There was only one reason why Dom insisted on pursuing this stupid crusade; the thrill. The adrenaline rush, the thrill of the chase, and of being chased. Dom lived for the thrill, for those ten seconds between start and finish. He’d once told Brian that in those ten seconds nothing mattered to him more than the rush, not money, not his job, not family, nothing. He’d been drunk when he’d said it, and Brian hadn’t been able to look at him for weeks afterwards. Brian was just now realizing that Dom had to have been telling the truth when he’d said it, because that was the only reason he’d be doing something so stupid now. The only way he’d leave them like this was if the thrill really mattered more than they did.

Brian made it a mile in the direction Dom had been going before he realized there was no way he could possibly catch up to them. There was only one option, the one thing he didn’t want to do, the one thing he couldn’t do. He pulled out his phone and pulled his car over to the side of the road. He took out the small white piece of paper, and dialed the number on the back.

The phone rang twice before it was answered.

“This is Rodriguez,” the voice on the other end of the phone answered. Brian swallowed hard. If he did this Dom might never speak to him again. If he didn’t do it Dom might die.

“Detective?” Brian asked, voice shaking. The reaction was instantaneous.

“Brian O’Conner?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong?” He asked. Brian could feel the blood pulsing through his veins. He could feel the sweat bead on his skin. He could practically see the betrayal glow like burning coal in Dom’s eyes.

“It’s Dom,” he said. “He’s in trouble. I don’t know who else to turn to.”

Rodriguez took a deep breath over the phone. “It’s okay,” he said, kinder than he’d been at the station. “Meet me at Dom’s. I’ll find him.”

“Okay.” Brian hung up the phone and tried not to cry. Dom would crucify him for this. He’d lose his family, the love of his life, everything. He thought of Jesse, driving around LA scared out of his mind.

Brian shifted into gear and peeled out down the parkway.

He didn’t have a choice.

——

It didn’t take Brian long to get back to Dom’s. Detective Rodriguez and his Toyota were already parked on the street. Brian skirted to a halt right in front of Rodriguez, and rolled down the window.

“Get in,” he said. Rodriguez looked like he was going to argue, but Brian cut him off. “Dom’s on the move, who do you think can get to him quicker, you or me?”

Rodriguez didn’t look happy about it, but he got in the passenger’s seat, and Brian flew down the street toward the highway.

“Where’s he going?” Rodriguez asked.

“If I tell you this, I want immunity,” Brian said.

“You have it,” Rodriguez replied immediately. Brian shook his head desperately.

“Not for me, for everyone else,” he said. Rodriguez gave him a long look. 

“The best I can do is immunity for you. I can keep the charges as low as possible for whoever else is involved, as long as they don’t have much on their records, but I can’t do anything about Dom. He’s big fish Brian, and he’s been to prison before. There’s nothing I can do to stop that from happening again if he manages to get himself charged.”

Brian nodded. It was fair, and more than that he knew it was the truth. Dom had assault on his record, that was the fact plain and simple. There was nothing anyone could do for Dom if he was implicated in this. Brian just had to do as much as possible to keep that from happening.

“Okay, the people who are jacking the trucks are doing it again tonight, and I’m worried that they’re going to get hurt, or killed. I don’t know where they are, I need you to find them and help me stop them from doing something they’ll regret,” Brian said. He kept himself from naming names. Brian might not be able to do anything to help Dom, but he could do his damnedest to keep everyone else clean and clear.

“Ok, give me Dom’s number, I can use it to track him,” Rodriguez said, pulling his phone out and dialing a number. Brian hesitated; he didn’t really want to give the guy Dom’s number. He knew it was silly, but it felt like his last line of defense before there really was nothing left he could control. Rodriguez called in the trace and asked Brian for the number.

“Come on Brian, if we don’t have it we can’t find any of them!”

Brian sighed and took the phone from Rodriguez. He dutifully recited Dom’s phone number and then handed the phone back. He drove steely armed and tense, thoughts of betrayal swarming through his mind like hornets.

“Okay, they’re fifty miles ahead of us, keep on this road,” Rodriguez said. Brian nodded, foot to the floor, and kept straight.

——

They didn’t talk almost the entire drive to Dom. Brian was tense, his head was whirling. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He’d called a detective, a _cop_ , a man who was investigating Dom. He could feel his life falling down around his ears. Dom would have to leave the state. He’d probably have to flee the country, and what would Brian do? Follow him? Dom wouldn’t want that, not now. Mia was in college, UCLA, but Brian had just finished two years at county. He hadn’t planned on doing much education wise. He, much like most of the people he hung around, saw life in ten second increments, and college just didn’t seem necessary in the grand scheme of things. He had a job at Dom’s garage and at Racer’s Edge, and he made more than enough money through the races. Only now that this shit show was going down, college was just one less tie to break should Brian have to leave LA. He knew Rodriguez had said he’d have immunity, but he didn’t know if he trusted the detective, and even if he did, no one in LA would ever trust him again, not after this. His racer friends would turn their backs on him. His crew, his family, would either be gone or shun him as well. Mia might have more sympathy for him, but it was her brother whose life Brian was about to ruin. Her brother who would have to flee the country thanks to Brian. There would be nothing left for Brian here, and then where would he go? Where would a twenty year old with no money, no family, no degree, and nothing to his name but a bright orange Supra even go? Brian was dizzy just thinking about it.

“We’re almost there,” Rodriguez said suddenly. Brian almost jumped. It had been almost an hour since either of them had last spoken.

“Okay,” Brian said, hands tightening on the wheel.

Rodriguez was right. Mere minutes later Brian could see the Honda’s with their green lit underbelly’s flittering around a massive eighteen wheeler like ants. Something was wrong though, Brian could already tell. Letty’s car was missing, and Dom was driving too close to the truck. Brian’s breath caught in his throat when Dom's Honda was shouldered out of the way, and he finally got a solid view of Vince dangling off the side of the truck, buckshot blowing past him, barely missing his face.

“No,” Brian breathed. He sped up, flying past Dom and making it to Vince’s side. He and Rodriguez together managed to get the roof of the Supra off, and then Brian steered the car as close as he dared to the eighteen wheeler.

“Take the wheel!” He shouted over the wind. Rodriguez looked at him like he was crazy.

“What?”

“Take the fucking wheel! I have to get him!”

Rodriguez didn’t argue. He slid into Brian’s seat, and Brian climbed out of the car.

“Vince!” He shouted. “Vince just hold on! I’m coming to get you!”

Vince looked at him through hazy eyes, and it was then that Brian saw the wire coiled around his arm, cutting deep into his skin. Brian didn’t think any longer. He braced himself against the edge of the Supra door, and then launched himself off the side, slamming into the the eighteen wheeler. He barely kept himself from falling, the force of the impact jarring him and knocking his teeth together. He gripped the door to steady himself as the truck driver shot at them once more, and Brian cursed into the wind as the buck shot barely missed him. He looked through the hole left by the bullets, and saw the gun lagging down toward the floor. The trucker was reloading; now was Brian’s only chance. He got closer to Vince, and held on to him.

“Hold on to me Vince, come on! I’m going to get this thing off of you!” He shouted. He couldn’t even tell if Vince heard him, but he did grip Brian’s shoulders weakly, so Brian took it as a go ahead. He unwound the wire from Vince’s arm, and pulled him tight against himself. He looked back at Rodriguez, who was doing his best to steer straight. Brian tossed Vince back against the car, and Rodriguez just barely caught him. He managed to get Vince into the passenger’s seat, and then Brian braced himself against the truck. He heard the gun cock, and then launched himself off the side, landing heavily on the trunk of the Supra. Pain lanced through his body, and he cried out. He gripped the sides of the car as tightly as he could, barely managing to hold on, and waited for Rodriguez to slow down. Before he could, however, the trucker managed to get one last hit in, and just lightly brushed the Supra’s side, sending it careening off the road and into the dirt. Brian felt every bump and swerve as Rodriguez struggled to keep control of the car. Finally they stopped, and Brian slumped onto the hood. Rodriguez was quick to get Vince out of the car, and flat on the ground. Brian slid off the Supra’s trunk, and almost fell to the ground. Familiar strong, thick arms wrapped around him, keeping him from falling. Brian looked up hazily and saw Dom staring at him with big concerned brown eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Brian croaked, tears in his eyes. Dom's eyebrows knit together in confusion, he looked at Brian like he was crazy, and set Brian down carefully by the car. Brian felt sick to his stomach, guilt rocking through him as Dom rushed to Vince’s side and looked over him. Rodriguez pulled out his phone and called for an air evac. Brian could see the moment it all clicked in Dom’s head, the moment his world teetered off it's precarious pedestal, and smashed into a million pieces. Dom looked at Rodriguez, and slowly backed away. Rodriguez glanced up at him, but he was more distracted with Vince. Dom looked at Brian, who struggled to stand against the car.

“You called him?” Dom asked quietly, like he couldn’t quite understand what was happening. Their conversation days ago about Brian never narcing on him seemed miles away. Brian could still hear himself saying that he’d never do it, that absolutely nothing could ever get him to do it. It had been true when he'd said it. Brian swallowed hard.

“I didn’t know who else to call,” he replied, voice breaking. Dom’s gaze grew furious.

“Anyone!” He roared. Rodriguez jumped and looked up at them. “Anyone Brian! Hector, Harry, fucking Dwayne Riley! Anyone but a fucking cop!”

Dom was spitting mad. He got in Brian’s face and shoved him. Brian stumbled back against the Supra, barely catching himself against the door of his beloved car. The car they'd fixed up together so many years ago.

“You motherfucking narc! You know what this means, don’t you?” Dom's voice broke on the last word. It was the only indication that he was just as destroyed by this as Brian was.

“Shut the fuck up Toretto,” Rodriguez snapped. “That kid is the only reason this shithead friend of yours is even still alive! So calm the hell down, and get some perspective!”

Dom whipped around to glare at him. Brian could see him gearing toward a fight. Adrenaline burst through him, and he launched himself forward, pulling Dom back from the fight he was about to start. 

“No! Dom!” He pleaded. “He’s the only thing keeping Vince alive!”

Before Dom could say anything else, a helicopter appeared in the sky. Moments later it was hovering over Vince’s seizing body, and Leon was pulling up on the side of the road; Letty safe in the back. Dom took one look at the mess around him, and took off toward Leon. Brian looked after him, tears falling from his eyes.

“Dom!” He called, choking on the word. Dom looked back at him, but said nothing. He shook his head, and moments later Dom was speeding away with Leon and Letty, and Brian was left with Vince and Rodriguez. Vince was pulled into the helicopter, and Rodriguez followed after him, barely sparing a glance back at Brian. Then they were in the air, speeding away from Brian and the wreckage of his life. Brian pulled himself together, and dragged himself to the driver’s seat of the banged up Supra. He sat in the car, a loud roaring in his ears. Every bone in his body hurt, but this thing wasn’t over. There was still Jessie to worry about. Brian wiped angrily at the tears spilling down his cheeks, forcing himself to get in control. He shifted the car into gear, and took off down the road.

——

The sun was creeping up into the sky when Brian finally sped into the driveway of the Toretto house. Rodriguez’s car was still there parked on the street, and Brian didn’t see anyone when he pulled up. Dom emerged from the garage, stepping out from behind his father's car, which had been pulled out of the garage, and which the very sight of jarred Brian to the very core.

“Dom!” Brian called. Dom held a sawed off in his hand, and he looked ready and willing to kill somebody. He looked like a mad man with Vince’s blood all over his shirt, his body all bruised to hell.

“Get the fuck out of my way narc, I need to find Jesse,” Dom growled.

“Dom, please, listen to me! Put the shotgun the hell down! You’re going to get someone killed!”

Mia ran out of the house, startled by the noise. She took one look at Dom, and shouted for him to calm down.

“Put the gun away Dom! You’re only going to make it worse!”

“Get back inside Mia!” Dom snapped. Mia almost shouted back, but then they heard the sound of a car speeding down the street. Jesse’s Jetta pulled up right behind Rodriguez’s car, and the man himself got out. They all turned to look at him.

“Dom, man, I messed up big time, I don’t know what to do!” Jesse cried. He was completely distraught, hair awry, eyes wild. Dom started toward him, but flinched at the sound of motorcycles revving their engines. Brian turned just in time to see the Tran brothers raise machine guns aimed right at the Toretto house.

“Get down!” Brian roared. Dom launched himself forward, landing on Brian, blocking him from the incoming spray of bullets. Mia screamed, and ducked down on the porch. Jesse made it behind Rodriguez’s car just in time. The Tran’s sped off, but no one was dead. Jesse had been hit, his leg sluggishly gushing blood.

“Jesse!” Mia cried. She practically fell down the steps in her haste to get to him. Dom pulled himself off of Brian, and pulled Brian, who cried out at the harsh treatment of his battered and bruised body, up off the ground.

“Are you alright?” Dom snapped.

“What?” Brian asked, lightheaded from the rush of blood, he sagged against the supra, and blinked until Dom came back into focus.

“Are you alright?” Dom demanded, shaking and shouting at Brian. Brian nodded stupidly.

“I’m fine,” he replied, still dazed. He was already looking off in the distance in the direction the Tran’s had gone. Dom let him go and went to examine Jesse. Brian couldn’t see the Tran’s anymore, but he was suddenly angry, furious at the Tran's. How dare they attack his home, his _family_. They needed to pay. He got back in his car and peeled out of the driveway. He didn’t notice Dom following right behind him, shotgun still in hand. Together they chased down the Tran’s. They swerved in an out of traffic, honking and clipping side mirrors. Brian knocked one of the Tran’s right off the side of the road and down a ravine. He stopped for a moment to make sure the man was alive, and Dom sped by him. Once Brian saw Tran move, albeit weakly, he drove on after Dom. He was still behind Dom when he saw Dom run the other Tran off the road, where he was hit by a passing truck. Dom skirted to a stop, and got out. The truck took off down the road, not even stopping to see the motorcyclist he’d hit. Tran moved, he pulled off his helmet to reveal himself as Johnny. Dom pulled out the shotgun and started toward Johnny, but Brian pulled up in front of Dom before he could get any further.

“Don’t you dare!” He roared through the rolled down window. “Don’t make this any worse!”

Dom glared at Brian, but took off back towards his car. He got in and sped off down the road, and, after shouting at someone to call 911, Brian followed him.

Dom drove until he reached the railroad tracks. The start of the quarter mile where he'd taught Brian everything he knew about racing. Brian pulled up next to him, and Dom rolled down his window.

“Dom,” Brian breathed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know where to find you, and if I didn’t no one would. I knew Rodriguez could track you. It was the only way to make sure none of you died, I’m sorry.”

Dom was silent for a long moment.

“I can’t stay here,” he looked over at Brian. “You realize that right? I can never go home. Whatever we have, it’s over now. This is the end of the line for me here.”

Brian swallowed hard. “I know," he said. He really did. He could see it all fading away into the sunset. The cabana in Mexico, years of racing side by side. The dynamic duo of Echo Park, all gone in the blink of an eye. And yet...

“But Vince might live,” Brian finished.

Dom didn’t argue, he couldn’t. He looked down the quarter mile.

“When that light turns green, I'm going, and I’m not stopping.”

Brian nodded. “Me either,” he said.

The light turned green. They went. Blood pumping, feet planted on the floor, adrenaline spiking they went. They made it to the other side just as a train chugged by.

Brian was the only one who saw the truck.

It hit Dom dead on. His car flipped through the air, spiraling and spiraling, slamming into the asphalt, skidding down across the road.

“DOM!” Brian screamed. He pulled his car up next to Dom’s wreck, and skidded to a halt.

“Dom!” He rushed to the wreck just in time to see Dom pulling himself out of the car. His father’s car. His father’s wreck. Brian helped Dom out of the car, and that was when he finally began to hear the sirens in the distance. Dom could hear them too. He wasn’t looking at Brian, he was looking down the road towards his doom. Brian rooted around in his jeans pocket and pulled out the keys to the Supra. He placed them in Dom’s hand and closed Dom’s fist around them.

“Go,” he said, choking on the words. Dom looked him in the eye, and kissed him for all he was worth. A rough, passionate, desperate kiss that would stay with Brian long after Dom had sped off into the distance, never to return.

When Dom finally pulled away Brian was light headed.

“I love you,” Dom said fiercely. Brian swallowed hard.

“I love you too,” he replied. Dom nodded once, and took off towards the Supra. He got in, shifted the car into gear, and pulled out without looking back. Brian could do nothing but watch him go.

——

It was Rodriguez that pulled up besides Brian and the wreck. He looked around, sunglass encased eyes giving away nothing. He took stock of Brian’s missing car, and Dom’s wrecked one, and knew immediately what had happened. Rodriguez sighed.

“Come on kid, let’s go,” was all he said.

——

The second time Brian was led through the police station in handcuffs was much worse than the first. He was battered and hurting this time. His mind was numb, his heart was aching, and his nerves were scattered all over the damn place. Even Officer Fons seemed to think he was too pathetic to make fun of. He was led into the interrogation room, and once again chained to the table. Rodriguez sat across from him once again.

“Okay, kid, time for round two.” This time Rodriguez had everyone’s folder in front of him. Brian’s, Letty’s, Leon’s, Vince’s, and at the very top of the pile was Dom’s, the thickest of them all, and battered like it’d been read a million times over.

“Why don’t we just start with what happened today. Start with Race Wars,” Rodriguez said. He was much kinder this time around. He must have realized exactly how much of Brian’s life had just gone to hell.

“I was at Race Wars. Jesse wanted to race to win himself some money to take care of his dad. He didn’t have the cash to buy himself in, so he raced for pink slips. His competitor ended up being Johnny Tran. Tran won the race, and Jesse took off. He couldn’t give up his car to Tran, it’s all he has, and he was too scared to stay at Race Wars. I told Dom to go after him, but Tran showed up. He and Dom got into a fight, and then Dom took Letty, Leon and Vince and went to find Jesse,” Brian was stopped by Rodriguez holding up a hand.

“Don’t lie to me kid, I saw Dom on the highway. He fought with you. We both know he was there. Vince too, hell, I took his body to the hospital myself,” Rodriguez said. Brian nodded and tried to rub some warmth back into his suddenly numb arms.

“Dom took them to find Jesse, but he and Vince left to meet up with the people who were doing the truck jackings; I don’t know who they are. They’d asked Dom to help them out with this one because they were two men short. Dom brought Vince. I knew they were going, and I tried to stop Dom; I wanted them to go after Jessie with Letty and Leon, but Dom was having none of it. He said we need the money, he needed to do the job. So he and Vince left. I called you and asked you to help me, and you know the rest,” Brian said. Rodriguez looked frustrated. He knew Brian was lying, he knew that Brian knew exactly who had been there, and he probably had suspicions of his own, but there was nothing he could do to prove otherwise. Even if they did find the truck driver he wouldn’t say anything, not after he’d tried to kill them all. He wouldn’t want to pull himself into whatever other crap Dom and Vince would be going under for.

“So you’re saying Dom and Vince had never been part of any of the previous truck jackings?” Rodriguez asked, completely disbelieving. Brian nodded.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Brian said. There would be no doubt. He would not waver from this story. A half truth was more believable than a flat out lie, and as the only witness with enough information to give a knowledgeable testimony, they would have to believe Brian. Rodriguez sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Okay, I know what happened to Vince. What happened when you went back to the house?” He asked.

“Dom was already back at the house. He was going to go find Jesse, and I was arguing with him because he wanted to go alone since Letty and Leon weren't back yet. Then the Tran’s showed up. They drove by the house and fired machine guns at all of us. Dom blocked me from the bullets, and Mia and Jessie hid. I think Jesse got hit, is he okay?” Brian asked, looking up suddenly at Rodriguez, who nodded.

“Yes. A bullet grazed him, but he’s fine.”

Brian nodded.

“Anyway, after Jesse’d been hit, Dom went to go check on him, and I went after the Tran’s. I ran Johnny’s brother off the road, and I saw Dom bump Johnny off the road. Then Dom kept going and I met him at the train tracks. We drove past the tracks, and a truck hit Dom. I gave him my car keys and he took off,” Brian finished his story with no finesse or embellishment. He was doing everything he could to protect his family, and he would continue to do so for the rest of his life, even if they never spoke to him again. Rodriguez just sighed again.

“I know for a fact you’re lying, but since I can’t prove it, this is the story we’re going with. Vince only has a couple of drunk and disorderly’s and a bar fight or two on his record, so he shouldn’t be doing too much time, especially since this was his _first_ jacking, and it was really only an attempt. Probably just community service for him, maybe a few months jail time. Dom, well, Dom ran, so there’s not much I can do for him. It’ll be prison if he’s caught, especially since even despite your story, he’s still a suspect in the other jackings. You, Mr. O’Conner, have immunity and will be pardoned for reporting the hijacking, complying with this investigation, and testifying.” Rodriguez stopped suddenly and rubbed his eyes. He knew Brian’s fate as well as Brian did.

“Was all this, the lying, the violence, the end of your life here in LA, is Dom really worth it all?”

“Yes,” Brian said, without hesitation. Rodriguez looked at him for a long moment.

“You know you don’t mean nearly as much to him as he does to you. You’re a kid. He’s an adult taking advantage of you. He’s gone now, and you’re life is over. He gets away scot free and you have to deal with his mess. How can that be worth it?”

The answer should have been obvious, even to someone as black and white as Rodriguez.

“Because I love him,” Brian said quietly. Rodriguez frowned.

“Yeah, I know,” he said.

They didn’t keep Brian long after that. He had immunity, as he’d been promised. The first thing he did was take a taxi to the hospital. He went to see Vince first, and to his surprise, he found Mia and Jesse sitting there by an unconscious Vince’s side. Neither of them looked particularly angry with him, though they were both cold to him. Brian ignored the stares and stepped up to Vince’s side. He was out like a light, the good kind of drugs pumping through his veins. Brian carefully touched the bandages that wound up and down his arm. He turned back to Jesse and stuck out a hand. Jesse lifted an arm to shake it, but he wouldn’t look Brian in the eye. He’d obviously been told what had happened, and Brian’s part in it. Next Brian turned to Mia. She at least hugged him, but that was all she did. Brian took one last look at them, the last remaining members of his little family. He turned to walk out of the room when Mia spoke up.

“Brian?” She asked. Brian turned back to look at them. “Where will you go?”

Brian looked out the window. He didn’t know, that was the truth. There was nowhere he could go. No one left who loved him, no one left who would help him or take care of him.

“I don’t know,”  he said. “I’ll probably just pick a direction and drive.” Not that he had a car to drive. At least, not a good one. He had his dad’s old Subaru tucked away in storage. He could take a taxi there, and then take the car and drive.

Mia nodded like this made sense. None of this made sense, not to Brian.

“I’ll see you around then,” she said. She wasn’t stupid. She knew she wouldn’t. Brian nodded anyway.

“See you guys,” he said. With those parting words, Brian left his old life behind.

——

The Subaru was just as Brian had expected it to be. It was covered with chipping rust colored paint, it leaked oil out onto the street, and it’s guts hung all out under the bed. The thing was ugly as all hell, and Brian was nauseated by the mere sight of it, but it was all he had left. He made his way back to the Toretto house, and up to his room. He packed clothes, food, and any knick knack’s he just couldn’t leave behind (a toy car given to him by his father before he'd turned abusive, the spare Supra keys with the surfboard key chain Dom had given him still attached to them, a photo of the seven of them at a barbecue). He packed all the money that was his and didn’t even think of touching the rest of it. Once everything had been packed he realized with an abrupt feeling that his whole life could be packed into one large duffle bag. It was utterly depressing. Brian stepped across the hall and into Dom’s room. He took one last look around, and smiled sadly. It was small, like the rest of the house, but it had been home. There was a picture on the desk of he and Dom working on the Supra. Mia had taken it just a month ago, back when his life had been fine, normal, _happy._ Brian grabbed the picture and shoved it in his duffle as well. It wasn’t like Dom would be needing it.

He walked out of the house, and locked it behind him. He left the key under the pot next to the front door, and began to walk down to the car. No one stopped him. No one shouted at him to wait, no one came to say goodbye.

“So this is how it ends,” Brian murmured, looking around the street. No one to say goodbye to, and no one to care if he left. Brian stepped into the Subaru, and slammed the door shut. He shifted it into gear, and began to head east. Brian glanced down at the Supra’s spare keys, and suddenly a thought came to mind. There was no place like home, but there was somewhere close enough to be tolerable: Florida.

Yeah, Brian mused, maybe he’d give Florida a try. 

——

 

Brian drove for hours. His mind whirled with the events of the week. His family was gone, forced out of their home by him, but that didn't mean he wasn't family. He was still, Dom still loved him, he'd said so himself. Brian stared up at the big green highway signs and made a choice. At the critical junction he turned south instead of east. He drove straight down to the Arizona border and kept driving until he hit border control. He wasn't wanted, so his passport didn't ping their radar. It would hit somebody's eventually, but what could they do? He was out of their jurisdiction now. He drove until he reached a town. Then he got out and asked the local mechanic if he'd had a Supra come through. The mechanic said yes and pointed him the way. 

It took Brian a week. A week of traveling from town to town, garage to garage. He saw some familiar faces along the way, people he'd known years ago who'd disappeared after getting themselves into something more than they could handle. Everyone was fairly helpful in getting him out of their hair and down to where he wanted to go. Eventually he found himself on the coast in Guaymas. The mechanic there, an old friend of Dom's father called Joaquin, told Brian to take the ferry to Santa Rosalia. Brian took his car across the channel to Baja California, smirking to himself the whole time. He drove to the garage in San Rosalia who told him to head to La Paz. Brian almost laughed. The Peace. How very Dom. 

Brian drove through La Paz, and wasn't surprised to see that it was like California with bluer water. Their were several garages in the city, but the second one he came across had Dom's written across it in shiny new lettering. He pulled the car in windows up, and waited for service. It was Leon who knocked on the window asking what he could do for you today. Brian rolled down the window and said, "You can tell Dom to get his ass down here, and face me like a man." 

Leon was shocked, eyes wide and jaw on the floor. He nodded, not saying a word, and walked off to go find Dom. Brian got out of the car, and shut the door. He leaned against it and looked around. The garage was almost a spitting image of theirs in Los Angeles. It wasn't home, but it was trying to be. 

"Brian?"

Brian turned, and there he was; Dom Toretto. He had on a fresh tan and a grease stained white wife beater. Brian stood and walked up to him.

"Did you really think you could leave me?" He asked. For the first time his heart pounded, and his palms sweat. Dom could very well say yes and kick him out on his ass. He could still be angry, but Brian at least had to try. 

Dom smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"I did, but then again I've always been a little slow on the uptake. How'd you find us?" 

"I asked around. Not a lot of bright orange Supra's in tiny Mexican towns. You should've ditched it right over the border if you didn't want me coming after you."

"Now who says I didn't want you coming after me?" Dom asked. Brian felt a smile split his lips. It happened all at once. He reached for Dom and Dom reached for him. He got his arms around Dom's neck, and Dom got his around Brian's waist. The kiss was electric, just as desperate and harried as the one in LA had been. 

"I'm not leaving, and you can't make me, Toretto," Brian muttered as Dom moved down to bite at his neck. Dom snorted.

"I wouldn't dream of it." 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I changed the ending, again. This was originally going to be a 2 work series, but I’m never going to finish the sequel and it felt unfair to leave it unfinished.


End file.
